Warhol gravesite has live video feed

Share with others:

Related Media:

Hundreds of devotees flock to Andy Warhol's grave each year to pay tribute to the artist's memory, but beginning today Warhol fans will be able to access his gravesite from any part of the world with the click of a button.

In honor of the 85th anniversary of Warhol's birthday today, The Andy Warhol Museum in collaboration with video technology company EarthCam has launched "Figment," a live video feed of his grave. The feed is accessible 24 hours a day at warhol.org/figment.

Viewers will be able to watch fans interact with and leave objects featured in Warhol's art at the grave throughout the day. "People can use the camera's zoom feature to see the soup cans, Coca-Cola bottles, angels and all of the strange things that people leave at the grave, and it's changing continuously," said Eric Shiner, director of The Warhol. "It's what happens randomly."

Happy Birthday, Andy Warhol!

In honor of Andy Warhol???s 85th birthday, the Andy Warhol Museum and EarthCam launched a project called Figment, a live feed of Warhol???s gravesite viewable 24/7 worldwide on www.warhol.org/figment (Video by Katie Brigham; 8/6/13)

Warhol is buried at St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery in Castle Shannon. Also visible on tape are the graves of his parents, Julia and Andrej, who are buried behind him.

The project was inspired by Warhol's "interest in voyeurism and watching, and being on the side of a space to observe what's going on," Mr. Shiner said, a theme that features prominently in his work.

Figment also will highlight the work of local artist Madelyn Roehrig, who visits and records Warhol's grave daily. Ms. Roehrig's work "is really about the changing landscape of the grave," Mr. Shiner said.

Warhol's grave has appeared in the work of many other artists and filmmakers, according to The Warhol. "It's a fairly rare occurrence that a grave becomes a shrine," Mr. Shiner said, "which is exactly what happened to Andy's grave, which I'm thrilled about because it cements him as one of the major cultural players of the 20th century."